


Mother Was Blessed

by HighfalutinTomato



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Emotional Manipulation, Gen, Not sure what else so??, Rogue Varian, it'll make sense later, moon Cassandra, probably, reverse au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2020-03-29
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:47:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23377138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HighfalutinTomato/pseuds/HighfalutinTomato
Summary: In a reality where the sun and moondrop fell in opposite places, a mother finds herself at her last resort. Her only chance for a blessing lies in the small child resting in her arms.Discontinued or temporarily abandoned because I have no control and switched fandoms
Comments: 1
Kudos: 23





	1. Her Only Blessing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their lone blessing, both becoming more distant to them.

There was a resounding CRASH as a priceless vase stationed innocently on the desk was sliced in half by a spiky protrusion and consequently met its fate on the hard wooden floor. The young woman cringed and quickly detracted it with a wave of her hand as she heard the impending footsteps. 

She smiled brightly at the entryway, though it looked more akin to a grimace, and braced herself. The door swung open and an older woman strode in, looking incredibly displeased at the sight of the vase. 

“Not again, Cassandra,” she shook her head in disappointment, and the woman in question looked down at her black clad feet in shame. Upon seeing this, the other tilted up her chin with a seemingly gentle hand and got her to make eye contact. 

"What have I told you?“ 

"That ladies shouldn’t fight,” Cassandra looked close to tears saying this but she bit her lip and held them back. 

Her mother watched her carefully for a few minutes before smiling kindly, kissing her on the forehead. "That’s right, blessing.“ 

"Remember it next time,” she swept out of the room once more, these as her only parting words. Cassandra watched her leave, fists clenching and her mind warring between anger and resignation. She believed in mother but how could she give up something she loved?

She slowly moved towards her bed and dropped bodily onto it, slamming her head into her bed pillow, frustrated but unsure of what options she really had. She was 21 so reasonably she should be allowed to do what she wanted. Her only solace was sparring and bettering herself physically. Without that distraction what did she have? She had books but they were never quite what she needed. She had paint her mother had bought her but painting was Not her thing. At all. She had even tried dancing but it wasn’t enough. 

More than even that, she should be able to leave if she wanted. Hell she had even tried to, but each time mother became stricter to the point that there were now bars on her window. Reasonably, she knew mother was just trying to protect her, but that didn’t stop the pull in her chest from tugging at her, begging her to see the world. She just had to. There had to be more than this. 

She felt the familiar thrums of determination in her chest, but they were useless. Useless she could find a way to utilize it that wouldn’t end up with her chained to a wall this time. She clutched the glowing blue stone embedded in her chest, the stone that had been there since birth that came with the strange black rocks that covered her skin. She looked down at the stone and hoped for a better future. For a future where there was more to life than this endless tower. 

Not for the first time, she wished she had the gall to just destroy it with her black rocks. The power she’d been gifted felt more like a curse at this point, and it physically hurt her more and more each time she used the healing incantation to reverse her mother’s aging. 

The stone sparked suddenly and she grimaced, wincing as it did. As the aftershocks faded she rolled over to stare grimly at the ceiling. It seemed like soon her wish would no longer matter. Her hand fell off the stone and to the side and the crack in the stone was fully visible for the cold and empty room to see.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is so short, it was mostly just a practice thing
> 
> Also posted here: https://grim-hiemal.tumblr.com/post/613871567238316032/mother-was-blessed


	2. The Blessing's Freedom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cassandra is done waiting in the wings.

The blue woman sat cross legged in front of the window in the middle of her plain and desolate room, filled only with things she didn’t want or need. She picked harshly at the dark dress her mother forced her to wear over the black rock. The only thing that did matter to her was forbidden, and she was too afraid to try again for fear of what the repercussions would be this time. She threw the baking sheets her mother had given her away, satisfied when they made an ear shattering CLANG against the wall even as she cringed. The very last time was nothing at all, but that in and of itself was a threat.

Sure, she could try again, just as she had every time before, but she was so tired of trying. She kept trying and trying but for what? What was the point, clinging onto her last fragile piece of happiness in her tiny world set to destroy it? She pulled harshly at her too long cyan hair that she’d never been allowed to cut short. She could almost cry, and probably would soon, if not for the resounding BOOM and piece of shrapnel nailing her in the back and knocking the wind from her as she was jostled forward.

She surely would’ve been dead had she not been covered in an indestructible suit of black rock, and she was suddenly very aware of this fact and her mortality without it. She used her hands, now flat on the ground, to push herself up and whirl around with a hand poised in front of her, not quite battle ready since she had never faced a true threat, but readier than most in her position would be. Ready as she’d ever be.

She saw a figure silhouetted in the sunlight streaming in through her window and without a second thought and with a flick of her hand, she sent her black rocks speeding towards them. They were knocked out in seconds, but not killed. She had used blunt rocks. She may be afraid of strangers but she wasn’t a murderer and wasn’t going to resort to that.

She tentatively approached the stranger, ensuring she was as quiet as she could be with the noisiness her black rock clad feet were prone to on the hard floor. She crouched down to be level with them and found they were just a small child, probably no older than 14. That didn’t change the fact, however, that he could be dangerous and shouldn’t be trusted just by his innocent appearance. Especially if the odd bottles filled with bright colorful liquids on his person were any indication.

It was these thoughts that caused her to sever her old chains from the wall, left there as a warning, and secure them around the child. Her mother had left ages ago on some trip or another, but she was sure she wouldn’t mind them being removed if it was to keep herself safe.

She sat down in front of him, keeping alert and ready to go on the offense should he awaken and try anything. She found herself watching him for the longest time, growing restless and having to keep herself awake, before he finally awoke. He blinked his eyes groggily, attempting to move his arms up to, she assumed, rub at them. She watched him attentively, eyes nearly unblinking in their intensity.

He startled upon seeing her and her acute stare, shrinking in on himself so minutely that she wouldn’t have noticed if she weren’t watching intently for every little sign of body language. One book she had managed to become interested in had been about body language and different defenses and techniques. It was very helpful in her following sparring session which… hadn’t ended well at all. She shrugged the thought from her mind before she fell down that rabbit hole again.

“Who are you?” she focused instead on the child in front of her. He seemed startled to hear her speak to him after so long, but gathered himself quickly enough.

“I go by ‘The Alchemist’,” he grimaced, “Though some think it’s funny to call me a wizard.” 

She raised an eyebrow at him in question, looking again to the strange bottles strapped to him that looked awful potion-like. He followed her gaze and seemed to catch on before his face turned into a harsh glare he directed towards her.

“It’s not magic, it’s alchemy!”

She shrunk back a little at his outburst, eyebrows high and expression alarmed. He must’ve seen how much he startled her and looked surprised himself. His expression turned guilty and he shrunk back visibly this time, clutching at his arms with his glove clad hands wherever he could reach so tightly that she could see them turning white.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to snap-” he scratched at his arms as much as he could through the thick gloves, “It just, it happened- and I hate whenever someone just thinks it’s magic!” He paused to gasp for breath, “I put so much work into all of these new compounds and then someone tries to excuse it as magic? As something done with no thought or hard work put into it at all?” his face twisted in anger, “Something that doesn’t even exist!”

She watched him with wide eyes and a stunned silence, not quite knowing what to say to any of that and afraid to try for fear of making it worse. Thus, she merely watched and listened, the only thing she knew she wouldn’t mess up.

He stared hopelessly at the very same floor she had been staring at not too long ago, lost in his own head now, “as if my passion means nothing to them at all…” That struck an obvious chord in her, and her eyes widened slightly. She tilted her head at the strange kid who had just waltzed into her life so suddenly and had spoken her grief in one sentence. In some strange way, she could relate to him in that moment.

She made a bold choice, her first in the line of many, and undid the chains binding him. His head snapped up to her in surprise but he didn’t make any move to attack her, so this only encouraged her decision as the right one. 

She moved to her feet and gave him a tentative smile, offering her hand to help him up. He took it timidly, almost as if afraid she’d do something to him, and the feelings of kinship to him only increased, for he had about as much mistrust as her thus far. He returned her smile upon finding she seemed to be genuine in her offer.

“Blessing, help me up!” a sudden familiar voice singsonged from outside the tower, and Cassandra’s posture went ramrod straight as ice filled her veins and a panic overtook her. She was quick to action however, and pushed the kid in the direction of her wardrobe, all but shoving him in. She stuttered out a quick apology before rushing back over to the window and freezing upon realizing the bars were no longer in place. Her mother could only come to one conclusion.

Her hands shook as she summoned black rocks from the earth below for her mother. She couldn’t keep her waiting, after all. As she felt feet connect with the rock, she rose it higher and higher into the sky until it was level with her window and she could see the startled expression on the other woman’s face. It was quickly coloring with displeasure, however.

She backed away from the window quickly, allowing her mother access into the tower and almost tripping over her own feet in the process. She stood stiffly and as still as possible once she was out of the way, prepared for the reprimands sure to come and terrified that she’d disappointed her once again. There was a long and stony silence before the other woman’s long-suffering sigh filled the room.

“Look at me, Cassandra.”

She winced, it was never a good thing when her name was used. Clasping her hands tightly together in front of her, she looked up and winced at the look she’d been expecting. Her mother tutted, shaking her head and seemingly unsure what to do with herself.

“What have you done this time? Don’t you know it’s dangerous outside?” she strode closer and Cassandra wished for nothing more than to be buried in her forgiving hug. “How many times must I tell you these things,” the woman looked her in the eyes, caressing her cheek like she always did. She spoke softly.

“You’ll only hurt everyone you encounter,” the familiar words stung like a blade through the gut, and she almost wanted to look down except she knew she couldn’t. It would only disappoint her mother more. “Promise me, blessing, that you’ll stop trying to leave, once and for all,” upon seeing her conflicted expression, the woman continued, “after all, your powers will only bring destruction. No one will ever accept you.”

“I-” she hesitated, pondering the words she’d heard too many times and finally, finally becoming fed up with it. With a new, actual person, from the outside world as proof that she could be better than her mother said, she was filled with a familiar determination she’d always pushed back. Chancing a glance at her wardrobe, she felt the emotion only flooded her more. No more would she comply, this time she was crossing the line. She was letting go of her fears and putting her own interests first, before her mother whom she loved so much. “No.”

Her mother startled, eyebrows furrowing and eyes narrowing, “no?”

She stared defiantly into the older woman’s eyes, puffing out her chest and squaring her shoulders. It hurt to even do this, for she knew if she just tried more she could get her mother to agree. She just knew it. But unfortunately, she was tired of waiting, and her time had finally come, her golden opportunity in the form of the kid in her furniture. “I want to see the world mother, I want to feel the breeze, I want to stand in the light of the sun-” she almost slumped in on herself but resisted the urge at the last moment, “I want to find where I belong.”

The other seemed to contemplate this for a moment before chuckling at her, whirling her around and regaling her with tales she’d heard a million times before about all the dangers in the real world, all the monsters and the ‘men with pointy teeth.’ How she was just like them. How she’d only hurt everyone just as they did. The only thing was, these tales didn’t scare her anymore. They made her even more determined to go out into the world and protect it from these horrors instead of become one herself. It was something she knew her mother didn’t understand, but she’d prove her mother wrong and make her proud.

She pretended, she played along, and she acted as if she believed her words in the slightest. A small fearful part of her still did believe them. But she ignored that part and focused instead on the opportunities awaiting her. All of this was because of her silent epiphany, the epiphany that told her she now had someone who had and could break her chains and had given her the perfect escape route. Someone who could continue doing so and would be useful for her. For now at least. She had the perfect plan in mind for how she would utilize this golden opportunity, too. She couldn’t lose her chance before she could find the will to go through with it. So she didn’t.

She had convinced her mother to go out into town to buy her a bunch of new dresses, stating that she felt like she finally “understood them” and their appeal. She didn’t, but it was enough to get her mother’s attention and get her out the metaphorical door. Coupled with promises to take up baking and present her with something delicious from the cookbooks she’d gifted her upon her return, and the woman was sold.

“I promise not to run away, mother!” she said overenthusiastically as she waved to the disappearing figure on the horizon. She’d been a good enough actor that she’d even managed to convince her that the bars needn’t be returned to the window before she left because she had no intention whatsoever on leaving or trying to ever again. Absolutely false, of course.

She ran back over to the wardrobe as soon as the woman was out of sight and flung open the doors, grinning wildly. “Ready to escape, kid?” he seemed stunned, probably because she’d been good enough to fool even him, but she was too excited to care. Her chance was finally here, and she wasn’t going to let it slip out of her grasp this time. Everything was lining up perfectly and she’d be damned if she didn’t seize the opportunity. All the preparation for this moment had hyped her up enough that she wasn’t even scared. Not then, at least.

He tripped over his feet attempting to follow after her, but managed to keep up nonetheless. She spun around to face him once they were in the middle of the room, startling him.

“But first, I need you to make a deal with me,” he blinked but merely raised an eyebrow, unwilling to agree to a strange deal he had no idea the nature of just yet. She smirked, pleased that he wasn’t so quick to trust her. Maybe this really was a good idea.

“My dream is to see the world, you get that right?” he nodded, confused, “I want you to show me the world, everything there is to see of it.” His eyes widened, looking up at her and unsure what to say, “Promise me that and you can tag along, otherwise, I’m chaining you up here until I get back.”

He squawked indignantly, “Excuse me?! You can’t do that!” she rose an eyebrow of her own, pointing towards the chains she’d used on him not even an hour ago. He huffed, crossing his arms over his chest, “Well, what’s in it for me if I do?”

“Whatever you want, kid.”

He seemed to ponder this for a minute, before coming to a sudden realization. The one thing he could possibly want right now, the one thing that he’d been slowly building up for but that required a bit of assistance.

“I want you to help me get revenge on the king of Lunae.”

She had no idea what this ‘Lunae’ was, but she would do whatever it took to finally be free, and that didn’t mean she couldn’t betray him when it came down to it. She wasn’t promising him anything, so she didn’t have to actually go through with it. There were always loopholes, after all. 

“Deal,” his grinned turned something very nearly malicious, which only furthered her idea that this kid could still be dangerous, so she shouldn’t let her guard down for even a moment. She grinned in return though, best to make him think she was as on board with it as he clearly wanted her to be. 

He looked up at her with no shortage of giddy excitement and morbid delight, for very soon Frederic would finally get his comeuppance. He had… whatever she was on his side now. She could knock him out without even getting close to him which he… had no idea how she did that actually. Either way it was effective.

“Better get a move on,” she wasted no time as she grabbed him around the waist and swung him over the ledge, literally throwing him from the window of her tower. He shrieked as he fell, thinking that that was the end and she really had betrayed him just like everyone else, until he hit a strange solid mass. The wind was knocked from him in return, perhaps payback for earlier, and he groaned in pain.

He looked down to see a giant spire protruding from the ground and nearly fainted at the sight. He couldn’t believe his eyes but apparently this was reality and really happening because the blood pounding in his ears was not something that happened when one was dead. Nor was the pure ice in his veins that came from sheer panic. This would certainly explain how she’d knocked him out without even approaching. He looked back up at the blue woman in a mix between shock and fear over his near death experience.

Her grin was breathtaking in its sincerity though, so much so that he couldn’t find it in himself to be mad right then. He smiled to himself before moving to slide down the black rock, almost contemplating saying something childish like ‘last one down’s a rotten egg,’ but he resisted. How embarrassing that would be, and in front of a near stranger at that. Though he supposed, hearing practically what a day in her life was like back there made her less than a stranger. Maybe a one-sided acquaintance? Boy, was that event a lot to unpack, too, and the pit in his stomach from it wasn’t going to subside anytime soon.

She went flying past him, piloting the black rocks to drop her down gently onto the ground. She tentatively reached a foot out, stepping gracefully onto the vibrant green grass. It contrasted starkly with her dark color palette so much so that she looked out of place, but she was so full of awe and wonder that it didn’t even matter at all. As her feet stabilized on the ground, she collapsed to her knees suddenly.

The alchemist was about to rush over to her, afraid she’d gotten hurt or something, but her shoulders suddenly started shaking and she covered her face with her hands. He knew what was happening, and he could guess why, so he maintained his distance for her sake.

All her life, she’d dreamed of even being able to step foot outside. The furthest she’d ever gotten was to step on a single black rock and feel the warm and comforting light of the sun washing over her, before she was ripped back inside. That time her punishment had been the harshest and she’d been chained to the wall, painfully bound and left there for days until she’d learned her lesson. She hated that she’d disappointed mother, had hurt her so much, but the feeling of the sun had only made her yearn more, and she couldn’t stop the pull begging her to see the world.

She tried to contain the sobs wracking her frame but she couldn’t, and she had for so long, afraid of upsetting her mother. She’d only ever allowed herself to do this when the woman was gone on some trip or another, and the tears were always born of the envy from the other being able to leave, to see the world and to traverse it, but she herself still being trapped there. She knew it was unwarranted, to be envious of mother, but she couldn’t help it.

She removed the hands from her face, wanting to see the world she’d been kept from for so long, and nearly broke into sobs again at the beauty of it. Staring down at the grass, she couldn’t get over how beautiful the color was from this close. She pressed her palms down into the grass, marveling at how soft and fragile it felt. Completely unlike anything she’d ever felt before.

She directed her gaze to the sky, taking in the beautiful blue hue and the wide puffy clouds scattered about. Sure, she’d seen it before, but never directly within its gaze, never directly under the light of the sun, and a few more tears rolled down her cheeks and plopped into the grass.

She tried to rise to her unsteady feet but found she was too off-balance to do so. “Here,” a voice to her left spoke tentatively, and upon turning her head, she found a hand poised to pull her up should she accept it. She smiled despite herself and grabbed it, chuckling when he had a bit of difficulty actually following through, but the small bit of extra stability was all she needed to right herself.

Grinning brightly, she once more admired the vast sky, shielding her eyes from the brightness. Which is something she could actually do now. She closed her bright eyes and breathed in deeply, arms spread wide to feel the full effect of the breeze ruffle her clothing. Her eyes snapped open, going down to stare at the skirt blowing around her before narrowing. She ripped the dress off boldly, throwing it to the wayside to be blown away to who knew where, and who cared?

The kid startled at the suddenness of the action, but she was clad fully in black, so it’s not as if the dress really contributed much. He had an inkling as to why she’d been wearing it though, and it only made the pit increase. He pushed back these feelings and thoughts for the time being, however, and just lived in the moment as she so clearly was. It was infectious.

She turned around towards the exit of the rock pit she’d lived in all her life and had been her whole tiny world, and strode casually towards it. The kid trailed after her, confused as to why she was no longer running and filled with such exuberance to escape. She caught his questioning gaze and smirked to herself.

“I promised mother I wouldn’t run away.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also posted here: https://grim-hiemal.tumblr.com/post/613932163296034816/mother-was-blessed

**Author's Note:**

> So yeah apparently I'm actually going through with writing now. Yaaay-
> 
> These are initially posted on my Tumblr, ghosts-of-grim


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